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Birmingham, Edgbaston, Aug 11: India dug its own grave on the day 1 of third cricket test match against England at Edgbaston on Wednesday, Aug 10.
The pitch conditions were excellent. If the openers managed to kill first hour of the play, India could have marched into a huge total after the lunch. But much talked-about, Indian opening hero Virender Sehwag disappointed not only the Indian supporters at the venue, but fans world over. He got out in the first ball he played; in fact the ball was unplayable.
But many of the top order batsmen could have stayed longer if they had chosen better shot. Tendulkar never looked confident, and gave a wrong signal to his fans whether he can achieve his dream century here in England or he has to wait for the next series. Rahul Dravid and Laxman showed the guts but failed to capitalize their hard work they put initially.
Dhoni was exceptional though, he was too aggressive. Little more patience could have helped him to reach the magic figure of 100. But one cannot blame him as he was under pressure to take strike in every over. First time in the series, Dhoni looked confident, hope he will continue to strike with the bat.
224 was not a bad score, but India should have put the opposition under pressure and at least 2-3 wickets would have poised the match. Now England is dominating, if they carry on their initial hard work beyond lunch session, then no doubt a big loss is waiting for India.
However, India cannot write-off so easily. If they regroup on Thursday morning and take at east 3 wickets in the first session, then India can fight back. India should not allow England to build the partnership. Amit Mishra should take the charge. In England he is playing for the first time in the series, he is not as easy as Harbajan to bat on. England needs to be careful here. Mishra bowled just three overs on the first day, a lot will come on the second day from him.
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